I would be the first to admit to having a bit of a blind spot when it comes to DCC wiring, not the soldering or fitting point motors but my reverse loop and snubbers and all the fine points of building a reliable DCC circuit. I had gathered much research and many many peoples advice but alas in most circumstances something somewhere was taken for granted regarding my DCC knowledge - this is very bad. However, I have success, a fully functioning reverse loop with storage tracks and a separate bus. Most I am sure will think nothing of my minor achievement but in my defence I now realise I had too much information - following the wiring diagram that came with the reverse loop module was all that was necessary - my confusion developed partly as I have three turnouts together at the entrance to the loop and making sure each had insulated connectors and appropriate connections to the correct bus is where I started to loose it. I'm not intending to describe all the wiring as it was a headache I'd like to forget and there are far more qualified people on here to talk about DCC wiring. My advice would be buy components from a reputable source (I used Peco, Gaugemaster and Lenz, my DCC system is the Roco/Fleischmann Z21) then read the instructions carefully and if you have questions ask the manufacturer. This worked for me, the reason I post on this blog is mainly that I have found posting in a forum tends to create debate - which is as it should be! However if you are looking for an answer to your problem and you lack basic to intermediate knowledge on the subject you may find you receive more opinions than you can decipher.

From above you can see the track section that has been wired, this is all going to be below ground as a storage loop so the track is not ballasted but I have applied a dark brown paint via an airbrush, this was partly to test out painting tracks but also with an eye on the future and the possibility of running a loco with a camera up front - I wanted to avoid a totally unfinished look underground.

Flushed with success I have now moved onto laying the track bed sections for the upper levels. And this will be my next entry topic.